Blair to Urge Broader Agenda From U.S.

Published 1:12 pm, Monday, April 25, 2016

Britain should use its alliance with the United States to urge Washington to "broaden its agenda" to include Middle East peace and other issues, Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday.

In a speech prepared for a conference of Britain's 150 ambassadors, Blair stressed the importance of the U.S. alliance, but acknowledged that some people feel uneasy about the direction of American policies, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported.

"The problem that people have with the U.S. is not that they don't believe that the weapons of mass destruction and terrorism are not real issues, but that they want to know that the U.S. accepts that other issues, such as the Middle East, world poverty and global warming are real issues as well," the BBC quoted Blair's text as saying.

Blair insisted that "it is massively in our national interest to remain the closest ally of the United States."

He added: "We should use that alliance to influence them to continue to broaden their agenda."

Reiterating his strong support for U.S. policy toward Iraq, Blair said nations which fail to support the United States on crucial issues would lose influence.

"I would not commit British troops to a war I thought was wrong or unnecessary but the price of influence is that you do not leave the U.S. to face the most difficult issues alone," his text said.

The Israeli decision was part of a relatively muted response to twin blasts in Tel Aviv on Sunday that killed 22 bystanders and wounded more than 100.

Israeli media have reported that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was upset with Blair for refusing to see Netanyahu, who was in London last week, while agreeing to host dovish Israeli opposition leader Amram Mitzna in London on Thursday.

The conference was to be held Jan. 13 and 14 to discuss a possible truce and Palestinian reform. Foreign ministers of Britain, Greece, Jordan, Saudi Arabia were to have attended, while Israel was not invited.